Ritzy,
I read in a book by Diane Gaudynski that she suggests touching up thread that shows up on the other side with fabric markers. I have tried this and it works well for me.

Judy Austin

Terrie,

I've not seen any difference on either my Bernina or my now defunct Husqvarna machine when using a single needle stitch plate - birds nests is/was just the order of the day. On my new Brother machine I don't get them even with a 7 mm stitch plate but I still do the leaders and enders because of all my scraps and it's simply a habit now
Marianne

So, leaders and enders are what I thought - I had only ever heard Margo call them starties and stoppies.

Now to ask: do you use them doubleÉ I`ve tried using a single scrap of fabric to do the `Prevent the bird`s nest thing`, but I often or mostly still have trouble when it comes to my `real`project. So.do you double them up and sew two together for you L&E projectsÉ
Sorry my computer is stuck in French mode and every time I want to make a question mark I get a..É.

I thought if I had a machine with a single needle plate, that would stop the irritating problem. What do you thinkÉ

Marianne...I love your motif I think it will look quite nice
Rosemary..love what you are doing
I got to take a class from Cindy Needham yesterday. She's a great teacher, and soooo much fun! I got 2 whole cloth linen quilts marked yesterday, and can't wait to get started on them

Dorothy

Terrie, I use the leaders/enders too when dressmaking - I've become pretty good at judging the 1/4" seams without a patchwork foot or markings and even if I'm a bit out it doesn't matter as it is only what you get with different machines and I'm not planning anything ambitious. I've even become more organised with my scraps so have stacks of lights and stacks of darks (sorry Rosemary!) so I always get a good contrast but I do have a Sizzix cutter so I can easily cut up all my scraps. I can't believe all the years I just used a small piece of fabric and sewed across it to start my seams. It was never needed on my mother's old machine but when I got my own electric machine I had terrible thread nests and the dealer told me to start on a separate piece of fabric
Marianne

Terrie, Leaders & enders is what Bonnie Hunter does/calls the scrap of fabric that you put under the needle when you come to the end of a length of sewing blocks so that you don't have a long end of thread and it helps to avoid the 'birds nest'' the appears on the underside when you start again. If you are super organised you have a box of pieces already cut - say squares for a 4 patch - sitting next to the machine and you stitch them instead of using a thread saver. Bonnie Hunter's latest leader & ender project has been tumblers, but any fairly basic block will do, and you end up making a second quilt whilst concentrating on the main one. In the past she has made a load of 9 patches, pinned them in sets of 10 and put them to one side to mature for a few years, then when faced with an urgent baby quilt requirement, pulled them out, sashed them and 'Bob's your uncle' instant quilt!

I have another leader & ender project that is basically any scrap that can be cut 2 1/2" but is too short to be square, is tossed into the box and then they are sewn into pairs,& then 4's etc any old how and I will end up with a multi-coloured 'jelly roll' for something.

Rosemary really like your leaders and enders. I ran across Bonnie Hunter's book on line and have added it to my list!

Barb

Marianne - really like your quilting motif! Certainly a neat way to try out different ideas on table mats (I need to do that too)! I agree with Rosemary scale off with feather like your new idea much better.
Barb

Marie Anne - Good move - I agree with Rosemary, but like you said I wouldn`t have been able to put it into words. My advice is to always listen to Rosemary!

Rosemary - I really like what you`re doing with these leaders and enders.

(now, I have to admit, that I can only give an semi-intelligent guess what leaders and enders are, but anyone who want to offer an offical definition - that would be fine with me. )

Ooooh I like what you have done so far. That is going to be a great quilt! Love the combo of flowers and stripes/plaids. I thoroughly enjoyed my leaders-enders Christmas table topper and will be playing more with the stacks of squares and 4 patches I have in disorganised colourways

2016 is going to be my year of SWAP wardrobe with capsules for each season but my quilting and piecing will very much be a SWOAP (Sewing WithOut A Plan) which I am really looking forward to.
Marianne

By the way I might be swiping your quilting idea for my leaders & enders quilt. I think that it would probably fit quite nicely. I have just finished half of the blocks, and am packing it away off my table where it is taking up far too much space and stopping me from cutting anything - like my rows, or mystery quilt It was supposed to be something to start & stop & start again, so that is what I am going to do. In the meantime this is what I have so far
The finished blocks

The alternate block pattern to assemble

A couple laid out to show design.

Thanks Rosemary,

I couldn't put my finger on the problem; just knew it didn't work but your are so right it is the scale more than the free form. I knew somebody here would be able to hit the head on the nail as to why.
Marianne

Marianne, I think the problem with the feather, is not that it is free form, but that it is a totally different scale and looks very fussy compared to the flower, which fits the piecing beautifully. Your sketch idea looks more balanced in size & shape to compliment the flower.

Great to see we are doing well in this new retreat "room". Sorry to hear about sprained body parts and bits of fabric behaving badly. Fun to hear that I'm not the only one into dressmaking mode. I'm still going down that route but am also doing some trial quilting on a sample place mat before I move on to the "real" thing.
Here are the two sides and I am happy with the "flower" over the star block but not with the feather in the open space. It is too free form to go with the structured quilting. I'm not going to fill in any of the arcs - far too many thick seams to try adding more quilting. I carefully planned the arcs so I did not have to quilt through any intersections in the block.




Instead of the feather I think I'm going to go with this


I haven't got the inclination to rip out the feather so will just jump in and try it on one of the "proper" table mats. Will post again when I have tried it out.
Thanks to everybody sharing their work here and the chocolates are always welcome
Marianne